In recent years, the healthcare industry has undergone a significant transformation in terms of technology and patient care. The introduction of virtual medical assistants has made a significant impact on the industry. They are trained and skilled professionals who offer medical administrative support to healthcare providers remotely. They provide services that range from scheduling appointments, answering patient inquiries, billing, and maintaining medical records. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of hiring medical virtual assistant and who can benefit from their services.
What do healthcare virtual assistants do?
Scheduling Appointments
Virtual Healthcare assistants can schedule appointments for patients and healthcare providers, ensuring that all parties are available at the same time. They can also send appointment reminders to patients, reducing the number of missed appointments.
Managing Medical Records
MVAs can help healthcare providers manage their medical records. They can update patient information, organize medical records, do data entry, and ensure that all records are accurate and up to date.
Answering Patient Inquiries
MVAs can answer patient inquiries about appointments, medical records, and billing. They can also provide basic medical information and direct patients to the appropriate healthcare providers.
Billing and Coding
MVAs can help healthcare professionals with medical billing and coding. They can enter patient data, generate bills, and submit claims to insurance companies. They can also ensure that all billing and coding is accurate and complies with HIPAA regulations.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
MVAs are trained in using electronic health records (EHRs) and other healthcare software. They can manage and update EHRs, ensuring that all patient information is accurate and up to date.
Follow-up
Healthcare Virtual Assistants can follow up with patients after appointments to ensure that they are satisfied with their care. They can also schedule follow-up appointments and remind patients of upcoming appointments.
Administrative Tasks
Medical VAs can perform a variety of various tasks, including managing emails, handling phone calls, organizing files, and drafting correspondence. They can also manage calendars, arrange travel plans, and coordinate meetings.
Insurance Tasks
Medical VAs can help supporting medical professionals with insurance-related tasks, such as patient insurance verification, submitting insurance claims, and following up on claim denials. They can also assist with pre-authorizations for medical procedures and handle other insurance-related paperwork.
What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Healthcare Virtual Assistant?
Discover the Benefits of Hiring Virtual Assistant for Healthcare and Save Money
1. Saves You More Time
When your time is valuable, work doesn’t stop when you’re done with clients. Your VA can keep everything organized and running smoothly so that you can continue to focus on what matters most: building your practice or enjoying the hobbies that make you happy.
2. Increased focus
Virtual assistants are trained with one goal in mind: To take the tasks off your plate and make your life easier. When you hire a virtual assistant, you’ll no longer have to spend hours a day shuffling papers, answering phone calls, or managing appointments.
3. Expand your reach
In order to attract new customers and keep up with current ones, marketing is a big part of your business. However, it can be tough to find the time for it. Why not outsource this task? A virtual assistant will be able to easily take on simple tasks connected with internet marketing like posting on social media, replying to email inquiries, or answering questions online.
4. No Need for Office Space
In-house staff can be costly, especially if your office is located in an expensive city like San Francisco, Washington, or New York. These cities’ in-office staff wages can cost as much as $40 an hour or more, but virtual assistants are paid less for the same work – as little as $10 per hour. Since virtual medical assistant is virtual and can live anywhere, many of them will gladly take lower wages than you could find in your own city.
5. No payment for benefits
One of the best benefits of using a virtual employee is that you don’t have to pay for benefits. If you have in-house employees, you’re probably required to provide them with time off, medical insurance, dental insurance, and other perks. You won’t need to worry about those “extras” if you work with a virtual staffing agency instead though—those fees are taken care of by the outside company.
6. Grow your practice without physical expansion
You don’t have to move your business to grow it. For a long time, growing your business meant hiring more people and moving into a bigger, more expensive location that would meet your needs. But when you use virtual assistants, none of these requirements are necessary. You could expand your staff to twice the size in the same location you’re in now, giving you more freedom and resources to focus on what truly moves the needle: marketing, training, upgrading equipment, and other revenue-generating processes rather than overhead
7. Increase productivity
One of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant is the extra time and space it gives to do important things that are tough to squeeze in during a typical workday. You’ll have access to an extra pair of hands when taking on administrative and customer service tasks—in short, it will increase your business’ productivity. But every business is different, so don’t worry about adding too many—if you start seeing diminishing returns as you add more VAs, just cut back.
8. Training Is Not Necessary
Medical VAs are trained experienced professionals who specialize in administrative duties. They have experience in managing medical records, scheduling appointments, and billing. By hiring them, healthcare providers can access specialized skills that may not be available in-house.
9. Spend More Time with Patients
By integrating a VA into your workflow, you’ll increase Patient satisfaction and improve Patient Experience. When your current staff becomes stressed, Patients tend to suffer as well. With a virtual assistant on board, your Patients will get the lightning-fast service that they expect and deserve.
10. Preserve your peace of mind
Running a business can take its toll on you, and it can be hard to balance the demands of your personal life with those of your business. But don’t worry – managing your spaces doesn’t have to be a full-time job. Putting a virtual assistant on your team means that you no longer have to worry about project deadlines or customer service issues when you’re out of the office. You’ll also avoid undue stress from searching for office space or interviewing new employees because these tasks will get done in the background.
Virtual Medical Assistant vs Personal Assistant
Virtual Medical assistants and personal assistants both offer administrative support, but their roles and responsibilities differ significantly.
Virtual Medical Assistant specialize in medical administrative tasks and are trained professionals with experience in managing medical records, scheduling appointments, billing, and answering patient inquiries. They understand medical terminology and HIPAA regulations and are skilled in using electronic health records (EHRs) and other healthcare software.
PAs, on the other hand, provide general administrative support, such as managing emails, scheduling appointments, and handling phone calls. While PAs may be helpful for general administrative tasks, they may not have the specialized skills and knowledge required for medical administrative duties. Ultimately, the choice between hiring a medical virtual assistant and a personal assistant depends on the specific needs of the healthcare provider or organization.
Who Can Benefit from a Virtual Medical Assistant?
Healthcare Providers
Healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and medical practice, can benefit from hiring medical virtual assistants. By outsourcing day-to-day tasks to virtual assistants, healthcare providers can focus on patient care, which is the core of their practice.
Hospitals and Clinics
Hospitals and clinics can also benefit from hiring Medical VAs. By outsourcing admin tasks to virtual assistants, hospitals and clinics can improve their efficiency and productivity. This can result in better patient care, improved patient satisfaction, and increased revenue.
Medical Billing Companies
Medical billing companies can benefit from hiring virtual medical assistants. Virtual assistants can help with billing and coding, which can improve accuracy and efficiency. This can result in fewer errors, faster payments, and increased revenue.
Conclusion
Virtual medical assistants have a lot of benefits they offer the healthcare sector and their demand is currently on the rise. By utilizing a medical VA, you open your practice up to the benefits that come with using a VA, and its benefits go beyond these ten points.
